The Paradox of Trumpian Populism

• In Event: Political Socialization in the Age of Digital Media

Abstract

This paper deals directly with the theme of populism and privilege by exploring the troubling paradox between the discourse of right wing populism and the economic effect of right wing policies. The discourse of right wing populism in the contemporary United States pits an imagined “real American” identity against multiple “enemy others.” Immigrants, African Americans, Liberals, and the “Elite”, are all discursively constructed to be oppositional, pollutant forces that hinder the success of those "real Americans" who hope to make American great again, while the material effects of neoliberal polices are intentionally absent in the narrative. This rhetoric was successfully employed by Donald Trump, however, in contrast to the analysis of many mainstream political commentators, this rhetoric was not effective because it was new and different, but rather because it had already been well established in right wing media.

In this paper, I will place this rhetoric in context, beginning with the platform of Pat Buchanan in the 1990s, tracing its increase in popularity in the 2000s post 9/11, and its further advancement in the 2010s with the rise of the Tea Party and the Great Recession. I will provide a content analysis that illuminates how “enemy others”, and “real Americans” are framed in opposition to one another in a way that allows its supporters to still claim their stance as populists championing for equality and economic justice, while paradoxically supporting the very policy positions that exacerbate economic inequality and injustice. The contradiction embodied in right wing populism, will be explored to better understand its rationalizations, motivations, and finally, possibilities for effective contestation.

Author

• Sarah Tanzi, Mount Holyoke College